Dare you think to be a prodigal son?
If sons were all to realize that the will was given to them at birth, how much more would they cherish their father now, in the present of time? And yet, how many sons fail to understand such gift and complain instead of what they believe has not already been granted?
I have lived long enough to have heard a lot of things coming out of people’s mouths. I am sure there are those who will have said the same about me, but I can only hope most of my words, if not all, have been pleasantly surprising, healing the heart, mind, and spirit through listening ears, having not scorned anyone’s views of this world. I merely reflect.
The words I reflect on today is where I hear a son state, “When my parents die, I’ll be getting everything they’ve got.” This has always failed to impress me. In fact, no matter how grown a man in front of me speaks of such prophetic understandings, I only see an immature child speaking as if they can’t wait for Christmas.
How is there any excitement to speak of in the thoughts of losing a parent? Even more, how is it that there is seeming joy for what one would get in exchange for such loss? Is this to be thought of as a celebratory moment in life? To gain possessions of what one has not solely earned, but instead, inherently been handed down to?
Several years ago, I was being assisted by a bank service representative. He was younger than I, but as he spoke, I could only think of his maturity as even younger. He mentioned that he had been adopted. His adoptive father manages finances for major corporate companies. Needless to say, although I allowed him to proudly announce it, his adoptive father was financially comfortable.
Moments like these, I have always found that I was given the part to just listen and so, I did. He began to voice out about how his father just keeps on telling him to learn his ways so he can one day do what he does. He was seemingly venting with pride while humbly complaining at the same time.
Like many times in my life, I could sense my indifferent reaction caught him off-guard. His pause to complete my bank request as he sat there with a gentle grin gave me that sociably understandable suggestion that he was curiously waiting for my response, any, if at all. Whether he was prepared or not, he was going to get my truth.
I could only suggest a matter of opinion from how I saw his father. I could only remind this young man before me that of all children who could have been adopted into such life, God chose him to be granted such blessing. Whether he realized it or not, his current job was giving him training at a micromanagement level. He needed to see his position as training for eventually ever getting to manage finances at his dad’s magnitude. Getting to his dad’s level will require a lot to maintain. He must first learn all that he can where he currently is. Once he gets to such degree his dad has reached, because he will need to, he will have had training to not just handle such height, but be well rehearsed to not mess it up.
He smiled, gave me his card, and I believe we bid our greetings at another later visit I had at that bank before I started to attend a newly developed branch much closer to our residence.
I think of that young man from time to time as I do of happenstance moments. I have to wonder, has he made his dad proud by following and learning his ways? Has he exceeded his father’s hopes for him by doing better or just as good? At a valuation of knowledge more than money could buy, has he realized that his father already offered his greatest will- his time and wisdom? Thus, has he learned from anything his father could offer during his time alive or has he just decided to wait to inherit all of what his father would have most likely financially passed down onto him being the sole child benefactor? Has he taken advantage of his father’s wealth of knowledge or wealth of assets?
Interestingly, I found myself several times amongst talk of fatherly advice, hopes, and aspirational plans of sons I had been surrounded with in high school. I get that not always do boys want to follow their father’s footsteps. I get that even as a lady- wanting to succeed and thrive on your own terms and efforts. What I don’t get is when one just waits upon the blessing, however, not thinking to ever succeed on their own. I think, everything you need to thrive is already around you, within your reach and for your use today. Why think to wait for your father’s talents to be given you when he is gone? Why not see to it that your father sees your own talents now, being put to use, maximized to its greatest potential while he stands by, ready to aid you in your path?
There are those stories of family feuds where everyone bickers and grumbles about who is to get or take what for an inheritance. What does this truly mean? I think, did not someone in the former life work from ground zero to earn the very blessing they are now passing on? Should not that be something then sacred to pass on or perhaps better, build upon and not instead, divide? Adding and multiplying mathematically suggests increase while division and subtraction leads to the downfall or depletion and in eventuality, back to zero, if no growth or expansion within each piece taken succeeds. Why would anyone think to create such a backward mentality for the next generation to see or have to endure?
The story of the prodigal son had been granted half of all his father’s possessions only for this son to squander it all away. I think to myself, how many men have done so and yet, never knew they did? Do we think it is our father’s job to have something to give us or leave us behind? Or, rather, should we not reap the harvest of what our father has already had to offer us and add to it even more so that he may see greater fruit of his harvest during his time with you?
This will that some have been made aware of. Wouldn’t it be great to have no need of any of what it states is yours, but instead, be able to pass it down in multiplicity to many generations what you will or have already put in? After all, doesn’t that piece passed down rightfully belong to the one who has left it behind? Wasn’t it his talent and the talents before him?
I am to believe that many would say it is a rarity to just bask in the sparkles, glitter, and glow of wondrous riches without having done much to earn the sweat, blood, and sacrifices one had to have given to collect, increase, and thus, pass it down. I want to also believe that it is even a greater rarity for someone to have the training to know how to safely handle and maintain such entitlement so that such certain way of thinking and doing goes through many generations of growing success and everlasting wealth.
King Tutankhamen, heir to his kingdom’s throne from birth, most wisely was trained to handle his rightful duty to be the next ruler within his first breath. Back then people were wise to understand that a father’s blessings were given at birth, trained regularly on how to handle, keep, and pass on such level and height. Even under great training, preparation, and protection, the wiles of hate and jealousy create the burden for one to continue the plan. The demise of a young boy already made king is a surety that one cannot predict their time of demise as they work through to fully understand responsibility.
One must fearlessly train today without worry of tomorrow.
King Tutankhamen buried himself with his most prized riches and favorite worldly possessions under the belief one can take it with them in the next life. Whether that be plausible or not, I would like to defend such notion by stating, “Why not?”
Why should anyone think they could not earn the very same on their own if left with nothing behind?
My husband and I were given the great opportunity to see those riches King Tutankhamen buried himself with at an artifacts showcase. While I thankfully confess I had no such thought nor did my husband and I have such conversation, solid gold heads the size of a body and other memorabilia could easily make someone think, “If that had only been all mine”. And yet, why not instead think, I have been given all power to possess such in my lifetime or begin to pass on such possibility for my children and their children?
Must we hope for a will to be handed down to us or have we not been given the will from the moment we were each created? The fruit of one’s labor- Should we dishonor it by dividing it or subtracting from it?
What merits one to just get something for nothing? Who is deserving? If they squandered their talents that was freely given to them at the time of birth with only the challenge and task to perfect it into its awaiting masterpiece, why should someone be worthy of someone else’s will?
The prodigal son does not have to live with pigs to grasp the understanding that all along, they did not have to wait for the day to have been passed down the crown. The worthiness of one wearing the crown has had the power to exemplify such role before the eyes of all from birth. Royalty is a mindset, after all, not a crown or a scepter. One facing ground zero in this lifetime only suggests all start with their talent. The cyclical events of riches, power, and wisdom can only be as testimony to whom believed of their own talents.
Not every one gets to be King Tutankhamen, but I do know one thing for sure. From the highest level of man’s power and riches to the lowest made servant of all, when we dare ask what we were each given at birth to acquire, we should all be in unison to recall that the answer is- everything.
Don’t hope or wait for a will. Your will has been long given to you. Believe. Take action. Be the talent to begin or continue. Bury the talent, it shall die.
